Improvement in thrashing-machines



3 Sh'eets-Sheet 1. P. PARROTT. Thrashing-Machines.

Patented Nov.5,18.78

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WITNESSB ATTORNEYS.

N-PETERS, PHOTO-LITHOGRAPHEli, WASHINGTON, D. C

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P. PARROTT.

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Thrashing Patented Nov. 5, 1878;

- N:PETE;R8, FHOTO-LITMDGRMFHER, WASHINGTON. D C,

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIoE.

PETER PARROTT, 0E EED- Bun, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT IN THRASHING-MACHINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 209,708, dated November5, 1878; application filed June 13, 1878.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PETER PARRoTT, of Red Bud, in the county of Randolphand State of Illinois, have invented a new and Improved OombinedThrasher and Grain-Separator; and I do hereby declare that the followingis a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

My invention is an improvement in the class of thrashing-machines havingan attachment for removing dust from the space in front of the cylinder,and having pickers for loosening or shaking the grain from strawdelivered from the cylinder.

The improvement consists in the construction and arrangement of parts,as hereinafter described and claimed.

I11 the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a side elevation of myimproved machine, except a part of the straw-elevator, which is insection. Fig. 2 is a central vertical longitudinal section of themachine. Fig. 3 is a detail cross-section. Fig. 4 is a detail elevationof the front of themachine. Fig. 5 is a detail view of the cam foroperating the fingers or teeth of the straw-pickers.

The same letters denote the same parts in the several figures.

The dust arising from the grain while the gavel-bands are being cut andit is being fed to the thrashing-cylinder, also while it is being actedon by the latter, is very annoying and likewise injurious to theworkmen. I propose to remove it or draw it away both from the space infront of the thrasher and from the space surrounding the toothedcylinder by means of a revolving fan, A, Fig. 2, which is placed withina suitable drum, B, located nearly over the thrashing-cylinder G, and todischarge it through a hollow head, D, Figs. 1, 2, 3, in one of threedirections through any one of a corresponding number of tubes-to wit,through the bent or curved tube E, (shown in full lines,) which extendslaterally and downward to an air-chamber, F, located in the lower rearportion of the machine, where it is disposed of, as will be hereinafterdescribed, or itis discharged into the air through a short verticaltube, G, or through a longer horizontal tube, H, which extends to theupper end of the straw-carrier, both of which tubes Gr H are shown indotted lines, Figs. 1

and 2. The head is constructed with hollow legs or branches, to adapt itfor attach- 1n ent of the aforesaid tubes, and provided with slides e fg, to regulate admission of the blasts to them.

Directly opposite the front and upper portion of the cylinder 0 is atransverse board or guard-plate, L, and in front of that is a perforatedboard or plate, M, Figs. 2 and 4. The dust-laden air in front of themachine passes through the perforated plate M into the narrow spacebetween it and. the imperforate guard-plate L, and thence into the tubea, leading to the drum ]3. The dust from the cylinder-space enters saidtube a through the spaces between the slats or plates N, which arearranged transversely over the cylinder (J, and placed obliquely as totheir minor axis.

The rotation of the cylinder tends to throw out at the front of themachine, and also in an upward direction, a considerable portion of thegrain-kernels thrashed from the straw. The perforated plate L andguard-plate M prevent the kernels taking such course, but withouthindering the passage of dust. The guardplate L also divides theair-current which sets through perforated plate M from the current whichsets in an upward direction from the cylinder-space, so that the two arenot mingled until they meet in tube a. A better or more powerful effectis thereby produced than would be practicable if the currents weremingled in the cylind er-space, and the dust is thus carried away, sothat the workmen sustain no annoyance or injury therefrom.

The straw passes from the cylinder 0 onto the reciprocating riddle 0;but the kernels of grain are mingled with it, and the action of theriddle is not ordinarily sufficient to dislodge or separate them fromthe straw. To produce this result I employ pickers, which consist ofrevolving hollow cylinders R B, having intermittently-proj ectin g teethS, which are attached to bars T, that traverse the cylinders R from endto end, and project through slots in the heads thereof. Said bars '1.are caused to move alternately toward and from the periphery of thecylinder in a radial direction by means of cams or cam-grooved plates V,which are fixed at each side of the machine in position to receive theprojecting ends of the bars. The bars revolve with the cylinders,

and as their ends traverse the cam-grooves 71. their teeth are caused tomove in and out through the holes in the cylinders. The latter havemeshing gears 11 0, and revolve together in opposite directions, asindicated by the short arrows, Fig. 2, and the teeth project on thefront side of the cylinders as the latter revolve. Their action orfunction is to separate into two portions the body of straw deliveredfrom cylinder 0, one of which portions passes over the upper cylinder,R, and the other underneath the lower cylinder, R, as indicated by thelong arrows, Fig. 2. Thus the compacted straw is shaken up or loosenedand divided by the revolving pickers, so that the grain-kernels areseparated therefrom and allowed to fall upon the bottom of the riddle O,by which they are delivered upon the sieve of the vibrating shoe W, tobe winnowed and disposed of in the usual way.

A second or supplementary shoe, X, is rigidly connected with andsuspended from shoe W, the function of which is as 'follows: Inwinnowing the grain some of the lighter kernels will inevitably becarried by the blast over the rear edge, 2', of the shoe W, andordinarily they are allowed to fall into the straw, and thereby wasted.By the provision and arrangement of the supplementary shoe X suchkernels are saved and winnowed, and delivered into a suitable receptacleplaced in front of the rear axle of the machine, as shown in dottedlines, Fig. 2. The blast to effect the winnowing of the grain which thusfalls on shoe X is supplied from the previously-described dust-pan Athrough tube E and chamber F. The dust carried along by the blast isnotsufficient in quantity to destroy the desired winnowing effect, andit, together with the dust and chaff separated from the light grain onshoe X, is carried to the rear.

The straw-elevator Z has the ordinary endless traveling belt, butdiifers from other machines by having a perforated board or top plate,A, and an imperforate bottom, B, Fig. 1, for receiving any kernels ofgrain which may chance not to have been dislodged from the straw by thepickers and riddle. Said bottom B will conduct such kernels down to theshoe X.

When the wind is adversethat is to say, when it tends to blow the strawback from the upper end of the carrier Z, and thus impedes the operationof the machine-the dust-blast through tube H is of particular service,since its force will carry the straw over the end of the carrier.

Slides f and g are shown closed in Fig. 1, and slide 0 open, so that theblast is entering tube E and escaping through shoe X.

Fig. 1 illustrates most of the belt and gear mechanism for operating theseveral movable parts of the machine. Such mechanism having nopeculiarity, I omit further reference to it.

What I claim is 1. In a thrashing-machine, the combination, with thecylinder and front guard-plate, L, of the obliquely-placed plates N,located above the cylinder, and the fan and dust-passage leading to thelatter, substantially as shown and described, whereby the dust is drawnaway from the spaces in front of and over the cylinder withoutpermitting escape of grainkernels in the same directions.

2. The combination, with a thrashing apparatus, substantially asdescribed, of the two oppositely-rotating pickers, consisting of hollowperforated cylinders and intermittentlyprojecting teeth, as specified.

3. The combination, with the two oppositelyrotating pickers, consistingof hollow perforated cylinders having dialnetrical slots in their ends,and the toothed bars T, projecting through said slots, of the fourstationary grooved plates, the latter having the most eccentric portionsof their grooves located, as specified, so as to cause the teeth of thepickers to be projected alternately from the cylinders on the front sidethereof, and thus divide or separate the straw.

4. The combination, substantially as described, with fan A and cylinder0, of the hollow head D, having the lateral upper and rear arms orbranches, in which are dust-discharge openings, provided, respectively,with adjustable slides a f g, to adapt it for discharging dust in anyone of three directions, as specified.

The above specification of my invention signed by me this 1st day ofJune, 1878.

PETER PARROTT.

Witnesses:

AMos W. HART, SoLoN G. KEMON.

